A historic high school basketball season has come to an end in the Coastal Empire. Thousands of local fans made the trip to Macon last weekend and saw the Johnson boys defeat Savannah High for the Class AAA title. It was just the second time in state tournament history that two teams from Savannah played against each other in a state championship game.

There were success stories throughout the area as the Effingham County boys and girls both reached the Class AAAAA Final Four, with the boys losing a heartbreaker on a last-second shot to Gainesville. The Calvary Day girls also advanced to the semifinals in the Class A Private School Division.

In GISA Class AA, it was Memorial Day taking home the state championship trophy once again as the Matadors won their second title in three years with a victory over First Presbyterian.

Next season will be a tough act to follow for many teams. Here’s a look at who has what coming back.

Johnson is losing star power in LSU-bound Tim Quarterman and underrated guard Greg Mortimer, along with big men Saadiq Muhammad and Devon Holmes. But the Atom Smashers will have a senior leader in talented guard Rico Bonds. Look for big contributions next season from 6-foot-7 forward Darrell Myers and high-flying guard Jamarey Lovett.

Savannah High should be rock solid once again with the return of 6-7 center Chris Cokley and Jamal Norman, a gifted guard who can score in a variety of ways. Both players will be seniors and are receiving interest from Division I schools. They will create a strong nucleus for coach Tim Jordan to build around.

The loss of experienced guard Jovante Spivey, a team captain, will hurt. But junior point guard Jason Lawton made huge strides this year, and the Blue Jackets have their best outside shooter, Jermaine Williams, back for his junior season.

Effingham County has highly-recruited Jakeenan Gant coming back for his final season. But the 6-8 forward is losing a lot of his supporting cast. The Rebels graduate their spark plug point guard Jay Wright, along with shooting guard Ryan Wilkins, DeAundray Rhett and T.J. Johnson.

Jenkins had an excellent season behind second-year coach Bakari Bryant, reaching the Elite 8 of Class AAAAA, and the Warriors have plenty coming back. Paris Baker is graduating, but guards Romaine Gray, Brenden Carter, Malik Benlevi and Jamelle Lanier all will be back. Expect the Warriors to be very, very good.

Memorial Day is looking forward to another playoff run as the Matadors return all seven players who scored in their state final win. Coach Michael Thompson will have a wealth of talent in his senior class, including Alonzo Baker, Deric Wright, Malcolm Quarterman and Mari Latson. And the Matadors will benefit from the return of Rodheem Greene, a 6-3, 240-pounder who missed his junior season with an injury.

“I was impressed with the way the guys just kept getting better throughout the year,” Thompson said. “We grew as a team and played our best ball at the end of the season. Our goal for next season is to keep getting better every time we step on the court.”

After Booker

On the girls side, the big question is who will replace longtime Beach High coach Ronald Booker as the leader of the Bulldogs. Beach loses some size in the post with the graduation of Jademone Jones, Ollie Steadman and Ty’Nika Johnson. But Jada Young returns at forward, and a trio of talented guards are back in Ilyn and Irie Spann and Jacqueline Anderson, who had a breakthrough year as a sophomore.

Calvary Day will lose its one-two scoring punch as guards Alexus Parker and Olivia Harrell graduate.

Effingham County should be tough again with Region 3-AAAAA player of the year Kyesha Lewis coming back for her junior season. Guards Ebony Hicklen, Jakayvea Akins and Aliyah Williams will be returning for coach Curtis Stevens.

South Effingham finished the year 27-3, splitting a pair of games with Effingham and reaching the Sweet 16 in Class AAAA. The Mustangs have star guard Tianna Germain back for her senior year, and she has a formidible post player back in Shae Leverett, who turned heads with her play as a freshman.

Jenkins should also be a team to reckon with as Faith Sanders plays her final season, with freshman sensation Makayla Robinson back with a year of experience. She has the potential to become one of the top point guards in the state.

McCarthy injured

Things got pretty ugly at the end of Benedictine’s soccer win over Vidalia Tuesday night at Daffin Park. The Cadets won the match 3-1 in a key Region 2-AA match, but the rough play that started at the beginning of the match got out of hand in the waning moments of the game.

Benedictine senior Thomas McCarthy was hurt in the melee and is out of the Cadets’ lineup for the time being, Cadets coach Joe Tvrdy said.

“He got blind-sided at the end of the game,” Tvrdy said.

Athletic director Danny Britt wasn’t at the game but received a report about what happened later in the week. The GHSA could take action after reviewing reports, Britt said.

“It was a rough game that continued to escalate and then a couple of guys decided to go past rough,” Britt said.